Letters: Tobacco makes money for gov't
Cigarette packs are displayed at a smoke shop in New York. (Mar. 18, 2013) Credit: AP
A simple solution to the problem of lung cancer, and other cancers attributable to tobacco use, is to ban the sales and growing of tobacco in the United States ["Surgeon general adds to list of smoking's ills," News, Jan. 17].
Unfortunately, just as smokers are addicted to nicotine, so are the various governments addicted to the tax money that the sale of tobacco generates.
Thomas Smith, Jamesport
I am appalled by the continuous barrage of commercials showing people sick and dying because they smoked. If our wonderful government is so concerned about what cigarettes do to citizens, the solution is very simple: Stop selling them.
Don't criminalize them, just keep them out of stores. The same way smoking was banned from public places for public health reasons, and restaurants are encouraged to eliminate trans fats, cigarettes should be kept out of stores.
The sole reason this has never happened is tax revenue. Greed comes before anything, even the health of the American people.
Gary Soccorso, Wantagh
